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NBA Picks

Free NBA Pick - San Antonio Spurs vs. Boston Celtics

East meets West as the San Antonio Spurs invade the Boston Garden, gunning for their eighth consecutive win, while the Celtics look to make it four-in-a-row. Let's review the NBA odds in this Friday night matchup.

The Spurs play their second game of a three-game road trip in Boston tonight after defeating the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday by the score of 119-114. All of those who backed the Spurs in their NBA picks that evening had to be gnashing their teeth as they narrowly missed covering the 5 ½ point impost. However, with that victory San Antonio upped their undefeated road record to 8-0 on the season. In addition, the Spurs have covered seven of eight of those contests with their lone blown cover coming against the Hornets two nights ago.

The Celtics have a mild winning streak of their own to preserve as they have won and covered their last three contests, all on the road. Granted the competition was not nearly the caliber they will be facing tonight but wins over the Pistons, Timberwolves and Nets all count on the record. The Green has not been outstanding in any one particular category this season. They are currently ranked 15th in points scored (104.1), 13th in points allowed (103), 19th in rebounding (43.3), and 7th in assists. They are a gritty bunch that has felt the loss of Evan Turner after he departed for a $70 million deal with the Trailblazers in the offseason.

The Spurs are once again the shadow that follows the high-profile Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. This season they are 12-3 straight up and 8-6 ATS but have done most of their bookie busting damage on the road. Offensively the Spurs are middling, averaging just 103.6 PPG but defensively they are as sound a basketball team as there is in the league. What the team needs is a big banger on the glass to increase their lackluster rebounding game that has seen them grab an average of 41.9 rebounds per game, which ranks them 28th in the NBA.

The NBA odds makers have over-adjusted for the square money sure to come in on the Spurs. San Antonio has been a veritable ATM for bettors when on the highway and the conventional wisdom is that the Shamrocks are a good but far from elite team. While that may be true the Celtics are 4-2 straight up (3-3 ATS) at home and when you have two defensive oriented teams that stack up fairly evenly, given Boston's home court advantage, it is difficult to see the Spurs as three-point road chalk.

In addition, the Spurs have to play tomorrow night in Washington and they could be looking ahead towards that game, particularly if coach Popovich decides to give his starters an extended breather. That will bode well for a gutsy Celtics squad to not only cover the number but perhaps present San Antonio with their first road loss of the season.